I Live My Life By The Moon
by YANIsweetness7
Summary: Dezi's best friend is Toph and would go to the ends of the earth for her, but she isn't the only royal she feels connected to. Follows the plot of the show. Zuko/OC
1. Are You a Mermaid?

A/N: I decided to write this because I really really love Prince Zuko and I just finished rewatching A:TLA and I'm having problems coping with the fact that it's actually over, so I know this is really going to help.

I know readers of my other fics are going to be pissed, but I am trying to update those as well.

I hope you enjoy! I had a fun time writing it. :)

* * *

Gaoling was a boring town for a 16 year old. There was literally nothing to do, but work.

Luckily Dezdemona had found the best job in the world. Two years ago, Dezi's mother had been hired by the Beifong family as a healer and Dezi as her apprentice. Both of them water benders, her mother from the Northern Water Tribe, but escaped to the Earth Nation for a better life for her daughter. Apparently, they oppressed their female benders and that wasn't something she wanted to partake in.

Toph's parents had hired them to help her see, but after the first session, her mother knew it was no good. Despite her mother's lack of faith, she continued to see Toph. Not to scam the rich Beifong family, but because she knew the little girl was lonely.

Over the years, they grew closer and when Toph decided to go into show business, Dezi was hesitant. It took a while, but Toph won her over with a promise of her position as manager and all of the profit she made. Toph didn't need the money anyways, she wanted to fight for fun. Whereas Dezi on the other hand was struggling to help her mother with the finances. She had no father and there was only so many people that needed healing.

Other than that, Dezi needed no convincing. She knew what Toph was capable of. She had beat her butt every time they sparred together. Eventually, Dezi just quit.

So far, Toph had been unbeatable since she started last year at Earth Rumble 5 and Dezi had no worries that this year would be any different. She was so confident, that just minutes before the show, she was sprawled out on the sofa in their makeshift dressing room at the bottom of the stadium. They had to make one especially for them since they were the only girls in the competition. It was barely used anyway. Only for Toph to change out of her white expensive gown and into what she liked to call her "butt kicking" clothes. Or just for them to come back and laugh their heads off about how easily The Blind Bandit's opponents crumbled at her will.

Today Toph seemed really quiet, but Dezi wasn't going to press her about it right before a match.

"Dezi." Toph called even though she couldn't see Dezi's eyes were closed, so made a noise to acknowledge the little girl.

"How does it feel like to kiss a boy?" Dezi's eyes bulged open and her body unwillingly tensed at Toph's questioning. And not being able to lie to her only made Dezi more uncomfortable.

Why would she be asking her that now out of all times? She's just a kid. She didn't need to be worrying about that kind of stuff. Dezi didn't get her first kiss until she was thirteen!

* * *

.:Three Years Ago:.

Prince Zuko had just gotten banished and he'd been away from home for over a month. Since then, he'd just turned 13 and his eye still hadn't healed.

His ship was making port in what he considered to be a lousy Earth Nation town because the cooks supposedly needed supplies for the ship, but all the shops were closed until morning which would delay them from departing until tomorrow afternoon.

The Avatar could be anywhere and they were wasting precious time all because they ran out of ingredients to make Miso soup!

Not wanting to be bothered with their culinary troubles, Zuko decided to take a walk along Gaoling's rocky shores.

He could not wait to catch the Avatar and restore his honor. His father was the only parent he had left and unfortunately treated only Azula like his pride and joy.

Even just thinking about home made the Prince's bandage itch.

The waves splashed against his boots as he lifted a hand to his left eye. But before he could even touch it, he lost his footing and tripped into the water. As he stood to recover, he was swept further in by the tide. He tried struggling against the waves, but it was useless because he was caught in the undertow.

The last thing he saw before the waves took him completely under was the sun setting in the west. Home.

* * *

Dezi was a creature of habit. She did the exact same thing every day of her life for as long as she could remember. The only thing she actually enjoyed doing was visiting the jagged shore at night when the tide was high.

She was a water bender, taught by her mother once a week because that's all the time her mother seemed to have for her, leaving Dezi to crave more; hence the nightly treks to the beach. The moon was her Sifu and taught her more than her mother ever could.

But bending wasn't the only reason for her visits. Dezi often found herself restless before bedtime and the sound of crashing waves would often ease her mind. And tonight was one of those nights. Only this time, she could make out the sound of struggling amongst the waves.

Standing up, she could see two arms and a head bobbing under the waves. On instinct, her hands went out to bend against the current, but there was no use. She could no longer see the person and she couldn't bend if she couldn't see.

"Damn." she whispered before jumping in.

She spun around once submerged, looking for the victim of her Sifu.

She used water bending to propel herself deeper until she came across a dark figure. She wrapped her scrawny arms around him and used her bending to project both of them up and to the shore.

By the time they got there, she was exhausted, so she just laid there beside the man, both of their legs still in the water.

She took this as her opportunity to get a good look at him. It was dark, the moon substituted as a nice, dim, pale lantern when it needed to be. Which allowed her to see that this was no man, but a boy. They had to be around the same age by the looks of it.

Dezi leaned closer, squinting at his attire that caused him to sink like a rock. He was wearing a fire nation uniform!

Quickly, Dezi sat up, ready to run. That is, until she noticed the bandage over his left eye. She knew it wouldn't heal propery if it was wet, so she used her bending to take the water out of it. _Then _she would leave.

But her escape didn't go as planned because as soon as she was finished he began to stir, it was as if he could sense her hovering over him. And in the blink of an eye, he sat up, his lips crashing onto hers. She sat there stunned as his eyes began to open and he slowly pulled away from her.

"Are you a mermaid?" He asked her. Out of all the things you could say to the person that saved your life and that's what he chose to ask?

Angered and confused, Dezi asked him her own question. "Are you a pirate?" She retorted while looking at his bandage.

The boy stands up, absolutely fuming and pointing a pale finger at her. "Stay away from me!"

This causes Dezi to stand up too and point a darker finger at his chest. "I was here first!" She exclaims childishly.

And in retort, the Prince set the nearby bushes ablaze and Dezi rapidly changed her demeanor. She didn't know he was a fire bender too! "But I guess you can stay for a little bit."

The boy stalked away from her, but not before glaring at her once more over his shoulder.

Dezi sighed at the smoking bushes and before the boy got out of her sights, took the water that was still in both of their clothing and doused the bushes while mumbling "They didn't do anything to him."

Apparently the fact that he went from soaked to dry in the matter of seconds didn't go by him unnoticed. Dezi cringed when she saw him stop in his tracks.

"You're a water bender!" He yelled, making his way back to her.

Dezi stood her ground and quietly asked, "Yeah, and what're you gonna do about it? Kill me?"

The boy looked down to his feet ashamed. "No." He whispered as an answer.

"Well, good." Dezi spoke louder, feeling content that she got the last word.

* * *

Despite being at each other's throats earlier, Zuko decided to stay when Dezi said that she would be making a fire. She thought he probably didn't have anywhere else to be at the moment, but the truth was, Zuko thought it'd be entertaining for someone to light a fire without bending. He was trying to rack his brain, but he honestly could say that in all his life, he'd never seen it done.

After minutes of rubbing two thin rocks together over a poorly made pile of sticks she'd gathered, she finally had a little flame going.

Zuko had caught on that every few minutes or so, she'd take a good look at the horizon for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the fire. So with perfect timing, when she wasn't looking, Zuko decided to make her fire into a real one.

When she turned back around, he had to force himself not to smirk, so she wouldn't know he did it.

"So what's your name handsome?" She boldly asked.

"Zuko. What's yours?" He answered even though he could feel his cheeks getting red.

"Dezi. It's short for Dezdemona. When she was pregnant with me, my mom thought maybe if I had an Earth Nation name, I'd fit in more, but it's not fooling anyone." She was right. Her name did nothing to cover up her dark skin, piercing blue eyes and long brown curly hair.

"So what brings you so far from home?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"I could ask you the same thing." He stated, looking at her skin as if he'd never seen anyone like her before. He probably hadn't.

"I asked you first." Dezi demanded.

It took only about 15 whole minutes, but Zuko spilled his entire life story to her. He didn't know why. Maybe because she was a stranger and he'd never see her again, so he didn't care what she thought. He just needed to get it off his chest.

And after all of his talking of his trials and tribulations, the only thing Dezi had to say was "You're a prince?"

He didn't answer. Just scoffed in reply and said "So what about you?"

Figuring it was only fair, she told him everything from her mother escaping from the Northern Water Tribe to her boring life in Gaoling. Her story was only about 5 minutes and she seemed relieved to finish it. After that, they just sat in a comfortable silence by the fire and Dezi dozed off despite her efforts to fight it.

Zuko on the other hand couldn't sleep. He didn't know if it was because he was used to a bed or cot of some sort or because today had been one of those hectic days that shook him enough to prevent him from sleeping. He did almost die after all.

Eventually, the sun began to rise, their fire became nothing but embers and the waves were finally quiet. "I should be getting back." Zuko said before standing up as Dezi finally began to stir.

Once her mind digested exactly what he said, she shot up too. "It was nice to meet you, Zuko!"

She shuffled her feet in front of the boy, not really wanting him to leave. "Good luck finding the Avatar."

That was a flat out lie, but what else was she supposed to say? And as if she wasn't awkward enough, she quickly gave Zuko a peck on the lips as a means of goodbye.

He smirked and said, "Goodbye Dezi." before walking away towards the stone shore from which he came.

* * *

This is my first third person fic, so if the writing seems off, let me know. I wanted to try something new for a change.


	2. Wet, Probably

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BREIANNA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

No Zuko in this one, but he **will** make an appearance in the next chapter. So be patient.

Also, the quicker people review, the faster I'll try and get these chapters out.

* * *

_"Dezi." Toph called even though she couldn't see Dezi's eyes were closed, so made a noise to acknowledge the little girl._

_"How does it feel like to kiss a boy?" Dezi's eyes bulged open and her body unwillingly tensed at Toph's questioning. And not being able to lie to her only made Dezi more uncomfortable._

There was an easy way to fix that. Dezi took her left foot off the ground to join the other that was propped on the arm of the couch.

"I have no idea… wet probably"

* * *

While Toph was being saved for last for obvious reasons, Dezi was coaching her on one of her many talents in the ring: smack talk.

"Ok, Toph, he is dominating out there which means that his ego is huge. And what does the Blind Bandit do to a guy with a giant ego?" Toph smirked her trademark wicked smile. "She squashes it into a pebble."

Dezi's brows raised, taken aback by her wording. "That's perfect! Call him Pebble!" Toph started to laugh at her encouragement, causing Dezi to smile in return. Toph just had the cutest most innocent laugh for a kid that was so kick ass.

"Alright, girl. You ready for this?" She just put her hands on her hips and cocked her head as if saying 'Do you really have to ask?'

"Ok, Toph. Final match. Let's do this."

The lights dim and Dezi watches her best friend take the center stage. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The boulder vs. your champion... THE BLIND BANDIT!"

She raises her championship belt into the air with her head held high. The older girl grinned as the crowd loses their heads over Toph's entrance.

One of the ring girls take her belt and the other, her cape before walking out of the arena.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl." Dezi rolled her eyes at him talking in third person.

"Sound to me like you're _scared_, Boulder!" Toph taunted.

"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rock-alanche!" Well that was quick.

"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble." Then she laughed maniacally, just like they practiced.

"It's on!" The Boulder announced confidently even though he was sweating. Whereas Toph appeared calm. It was obvious that Toph was 'getting a good look' at him, if you will.

He made his first step and as a generous opponent, Toph allowed him to take another before kicking a trail of rock straight to where his foot was going to land, causing him to fall into the splits. Now it was clear she was just toying with him.

But he wasn't in pain for long because she put him out of his misery, sending three pilars out of the ground that threw him straight into the audience wall.

"Your winner and **still** the champion: THE BLIND BANDIT!" Dezi cheered as Toph threw her fist in the air in victory.

The long haired Shin Fu jumped down from his announcer's seat with a large sack of money. Something he did at the end of every show. "To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat THE BLIND BANDIT!"

As usual, the audience stayed silent, no one crazy enough to face Toph.

"What? No one dares to face her?" Shin Fu baited.

"I will!" Yelled a little boy about Toph's age as he brazenly walked onto the stage.

"Do people really wanna see two little girls fighting out here?" Toph scoffed at him.

The boy started saying something to her that no one could make out because he wasn't projecting his voice. Did he not know anything about performing? Whatever he said caused Toph to kick a rock from under him and instead of being projected off it, he floated down to another spot not too far away. **Floated**.

"Somebody's a little light on his feet. What's your fighting name- The Fancy Dancer?" The boy smiled and shrugged causing a frustrated Toph to try the same move once more. Only this time, he floated until he was directly behind her. Was this some sort of a gimmick?

Once he landed, Toph summoned up an actual boulder and sent it right at him. And instead of dodging it, he sent a gust of wind right back at her, causing her rock to fall and her petite body to slide off the surface of the large arena.

For the first time in her life, Toph lost. And because Dezi knew her better than most, she waited in the dressing room with her royal garb, not saying a single word once Toph got back.

* * *

The next day, Dezi noticed that Toph wasn't in the garden as usual, so she went to the Beifong house to look for Toph and turns out her parents and some kids that were her complexion had noticed her absence too.

"I know where she might be." She stated while walking to the door, everyone else following her lead. But she stopped in her steps, turning back to Toph's father. "You might want to bring a lot of money."

"Toph!" Dezi called out as they entered the arena seeing Toph and her competitor from yesterday hanging from the ceiling in metal cages.

"Here's your money! Now let them go." The boy said, dropping the bag of coins to the ground. Toph's rich, condescending earth bending teacher, slid it over to him with his bending.

Immediately, Shin Fu signaled to lower her cage and once it was open, she ran out of it and standing next to Dezi, her father's arms were outstretched to greet his only daughter.

But to his surprise, Toph didn't hug him. She ran straight to her best friend, resting her head on her chest.

Quickly, her father ushered them off the stage, leaving behind those water tribe kids and Dezi couldn't help but to feel a little guilty. But knowing Toph for these years, she's learned to read her like a book. Even though the little girl had no idea, her face was very animated, always showing how she felt. And right now she was sporting an expression that Dezi had never seen on her before. Confliction. But that was all Dezi needed to make sense of the situation.

The floating, the way he acted towards Toph in the ring, his water tribe friends. Gaoling was his next step to mastering all four elements and what better teacher than Toph? She heard King Bumi was amazing, but Toph had the advantage of being blind. This was her chance to be free.

The only flaw Dezi could make in her logic was that if the boy was the Avatar and Zuko was no where to be found, then how come Zuko hadn't visited her in the early fall like he usually did.

For three years, he'd come the same week every year. So the only option Dezi could come up with was that he was either injured or in some kind of trouble. She could only hope that with the Avatar here, he wasn't too far away.

Just as Dezi was about to open her mouth and convince Toph to turn back around, the Water Tribe kids pleaded to them from the end of the tunnel. "Toph, there's too many of them. We need an earth bender. We need you!" The girl shouted, causing them to stop.

"My daughter is blind. She's blind and tiny and helpless and fragile! She cannot help you." Toph's father told them matter of factly and Dezi knew that was just the push Toph needed.

She snatched her hand from her father's and spoke up. "Yes. **I can**." As she headed towards where they just came from, and like a good friend, Dezi ran after her, proud that she finally stood up to her father.

Once they got there, Toph stomped heavily on the arena, creating a wall to stop the earth benders from leaving with the Avatar.

"Let him go! I beat you all before, and I'll do it again!" She threatened.

"The Boulder takes issue with that comment!" He repeated before the Hippo threw down the metal cage with the boy inside.

"Wait!" Toph stopped the water tribe kids. Whatever small about of water or weapons they had would do no good here. "They're mine!"

They all charged and Toph waited until they were only a few yards away before sending them back in a rocky avalanche. That caused a cloud of dirt to form, which leveled the playing field for The Blind Bandit. If she couldn't see a thing, then neither could they. It was only fair.

Slowly, she entered the cloud disappearing with the rest of the grown men. The only thing they could hear was the sound of earth quaking and the only thing they could see were her opponents being propelled off the arena from time to time.

Eventually, the dust lessened and the Hippo came running out of it, swinging around a stone piece. How in the world was Toph the only earth bender in existence to be one with her element. If any of them were actually capable of defeating her, the dust cloud shouldn't affect them at all.

Soon, the Boulder followed after him, landing on his back. You could tell they were pissed. Especially the Boulder, not wanting to be defeated by a little girl twice in less than 24 hours.

Toph came out of the dust with her hands up, ready to strike. She let them run towards her and once they were one the stone piece in the center of the ring like her, she turned it 45 degrees, causing a scrawny idiot with a mask on that was swinging down on a rope, to come crashing into the Hippo and Boulder. Apparently, he was the smartest, coming up with a technique so that Toph couldn't see him with her feet. But unfortunately, he was in fact yelling, so he couldn't be smart enough to know the difference between deaf and blind.

Taking her heel to the ground, Toph sent the pile of men to the loser's trench where they belonged.

With the wave of her hands, she made the dust disappear completely and just as they all thought it was all over, Shin Fu had the nerve to step forward.

He and Toph circled the stone piece as the rest of us kids stood to the side. Shin Fu decided to attack agressively, choosing to kick medium sized rocks in Toph's direction. She easily deflected them by creating two triangular walls around her. She sent one of them towards him, but he dodged it, flipping out of the way.

Before he even landed, he reached his hand into the earth, which was the cause of his downfall. Toph could see that! But being generous today, she let him throw a large boulder at her head before sidestepping it.

With one last effort, Toph pressed down on the ball of her foot and he went flying into the stands.

* * *

The very next day, Dezi woke up early to tell Toph to run away with the Avatar and teach him every thing she knew. As usual, the guards let her in to greet Toph's parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Beifong, if I could speak to your daughter-" "She is not here." Mr. Beifong explained and it made her realize that she had never heard his wife speak.

"She's been taken by the Avatar." He stated quite calmly. Too calm. And when Dezi opened her mouth to convince them that the Avatar would never do such a thing and Toph must've went on her own free will, he interrupted her once more. "But do not worry. We have very capable bounties on our daughter."

Dezi finally got a word in, "Mr. Beifong, with all due respect-" "There would be no better time to tell you that your services are no longer needed. Even after our daughter's return."

When she returned home, there was a note her mother left her that said, "Our session has been cancelled. Practice your bending on your own."

Dezi went to the kitchen to get a spare bucket and dilled it with most of the money her and Toph won this season and left the rest scattered around the floor of her room. Then she filled the rest with water from the small pond in their backyard and froze the money inside. This way, she won't have to beg for money and it wouldn't be stolen from her because there would be no sounds of money clinking around in her pockets.

Before heading east, she remembered the note her mother left and with a flick of her hand, the water from the pond began to flood the tiny one room house.

* * *

**Broken Blackk Dahlia: **Thanks for the kind comment and thanks for being the first reviewer for this fic. I really appreciate it.

**Attack-of-the-Blue-Penguins: **Thank you! I'm flattered.

**KnowlingGirl: **Aww! That's quite a statement considering this is my first shot at writing him! I'm glad you like it.


	3. Wanna Trade Lives?

**A/N:** More Zuko in this one, yayyyy!

I know the last chapter was rushed, but tbh, it was just a filler and needed to be done in order to progress the story further.

Kinda sad that no one wished me a happy birthday :( But whatever. Not gonna mope about it.

Btw, I am kinda freaked out that Dezi's full name has the word demon in it. I was typing it like wth? But who cares? I'm not gonna change it now because that would be twice I've changed her name and I'm too lazy for that. Plus this one sounds earth nationy to me.

Oh, and I revised the last chapter fixed all the grammar and what not.

* * *

Dezi had been walking for over half a day, keeping close to the shore so that she'd never be too far away from water. It was only when she found herself near a port town that she decided to go further inland, not wanting the hassle of interacting with people.

She noticed that the sun was beginning to set and she found herself very tired after her long day's journey, so she decided to make camp for the night.

Setting down her mat, she quickly wrapped herself up to get a good night's sleep so that she could be up early in the morning and back on the coastline to make up for her little detour.

In her sleep, Dezdemona thought herself to be having a peculiar dream. Peculiar because it was just men whispering. She opened her eyes to see that her dream was a reality and there was a group of haggard men standing over her with devious looks on her faces.

Trying to figure a way out of this sticky situation, Dezi sat up to see the dirty men part and make way for a short, bearded man.

"Take her." was simply all he said before the rest of them reached out to grab her.

Dezi screamed, cursing the fact that she didn't stick to the shore. She couldn't bend at all and she wasn't the best fighter either.

She tried to run away from the unwanted crowd, but they caught her with little effort, their gigantic grubby hands reaching out to touch her curves.

She struggled against her large captor not wanting to lose her innocence like this and definitely not by men like them who were trying to steal it from her.

* * *

_Dezi was fourteen when she made a new friend, the only difference between this one and the Prince was that she wasn't going anywhere. And the funny thing was, the little girl was royalty too._

_Not feeling as lonely anymore, Dezi felt like she belonged in Gaoling all because Toph didn't judge her on her appearance, for she was blind._

_In a good mood, Dezi practiced her bending in the pond behind her house when she saw a fire nation bird flying overhead._

_Immediately, she dropped the water back into the rock pond before going back inside to grab a biscuit, then leaving back out to follow that bird._

_She had been following it for over ten minutes before she found it perched on a stump, not too far away from the beach she frequented._

_She crumbled a piece of the biscuit to feed the bird before grabbing the parchment it carried._

_There was only a symbol of a flame on it, so Dezi put it back and hid in the woods, waiting to see if someone would come for the bird._

_She waited for what felt like forever to a fourteen year old, having finished the biscuit long ago._

_She was about to head out and fix herself a meal, considering the bird a lost cause. That is, until she heard heavy footsteps not too far away from her hiding space._

_She slowly peeked out, surprised to see her Prince. She thought last year was a once in a lifetime chance encounter, but she was glad he was back, even if he was still wearing that hideous fire nation armor again._

_Dezi smirked as she took the chance to look him over without him being aware._

_Zuko looked taller and his shoulders wider, but not by much. His hair was unfortunately still the same, but it didn't really bother her. She could only see him from the side, but she could tell he wasn't wearing the bandage over his eye anymore which oddly relieved her._

_But the side of his face that she could see was bearing a disappointed expression as he approached the bird, taking notice that the parchment was still there._

_With light feet, Dezi ran out to greet Zuko, wrapping her gangly arms around him._

"_Zuko! How'd you find me?" He stiffened before turning around in her arms, taking his time to look at her face before replying._

"_I figured you came here often." That caused Dezi to grin before confidently kissing him as she'd been wanting to do for an entire year._

_Once again, Zuko stayed the night, this time having snuck off his docked ship just to see his secret friend._

_By the light of the moon and the fire they'd built together, Dezi laid in Zuko's firm arms as he told her stories of his 13 years in the fire nation._

"_It sounds amazing." She mumbled against his chest, having forced him out of his annoying armor a long time ago. She was impressed by the luxury he was used to. Being bathed, having your hair washed for you, getting dressed in royal silk garb, eating the most expensive of foods and drinking the most exotic of teas. Dezi was almost envious of Zuko's old life. She wondered if he missed it._

"_Wanna trade lives?" Zuko offered and Dezi lifted her head at his dire tone._

_She looked at his scar, her first time really examining it since he got there. He hadn't told her how exactly how he'd got it, having left that part out in his last encounter, but she had a feeling that it was from home and part of the reason why he was on this impossible hunt. She did remember him saying that he'd dishonored the king. Had half his face been his punishment as well?_

_Zuko appeared nervous under her gaze because the last time they'd met, she hadn't seen it and the last thing that Zuko wanted was for her to consider him a monster. The flesh around his eye was permanently pink and raised, curling around his ear and going all the way up to his hairline. It was the best the fire nation healers could do and despite how hideous it looked, he was just happy that he was able to see out of it, even if it couldn't open as wide as his other one. _

"_No thank you." She whispered before leaning up and gently kissing the scar._

_For the rest of the night, conversation was lost between the teenagers, choosing to spend their limited time together with their mouths connected and their tongues at war._

* * *

She squirmed as the lot ran their hands over her bindings and over her hips and thighs, bringing tears to her blue eyes.

"We're gonna get a lot of money for this one, boss." The short man nodded to the man who held her from behind, the rest of them, backed off, watching on with lust and curiosity.

They all laughed and cheered as the tiny man reached a hand out to her modest robes, but Dezi was having none of it.

At such an impressive speed, she kicked the man where she knew was most sensitive and when he dropped to his knees, she kicked him in his chin, causing his head to jerk far back before falling completely to the ground.

Before anyone could react, she reeled her head back, hitting the large man behind her and since she was tall, she got him right between the eyes, causing him to release her.

She ran quicker than a platypus bear running from an eel hound in the spring. But she knew she couldn't run forever and she didn't want to leave behind her belongings, so she couldn't just hide from them, she had to shake them off and quick.

Behind her, she could hear the threats spewing from their filthy mouths, motivating her to run faster.

"When we get our hands on you…" She wasn't going to let that happen ever again.

Dezi cursed herself as she unwillingly slowed down, her brain failing to come up with a plan.

But she wasn't slowing down due to fatigue, but due to the ground not being solid anymore. She had now entered a place in the woods that was murky and muddy.

Mud! It was just dirt and water, right?

She had never bended with anything but water before, but she was desperate and needed a fighting chance against these horrible men.

She stopped running, hearing their footsteps not too far behind. Dezi walked further into the mud, hiding behind a tree to gather her bearings.

She looked to her right, noticing that there was a slope that the mud was slowly leading towards. She thanked the spirits that it had rained a few days ago, or she'd be doomed.

Breathing deeply as she heard the sound of whispering and wet yet slow footsteps, she revealed herself from behind the tree, causing the six men to grin, including the boss she kicked twice a few minutes ago.

"Giving up that easy?" The rest of the men stopped walking, but the boss kept inching closer.

Dezi shook her head, grinning at the man she towered over. "Never."

And with that, she lifted her arms just as she'd been doing for nearly every day for a decade and adopted a wide stance as to not lose her footing in the mud.

They exchanged strange looks as she took a deep breath and on her exhale, she swept her arms in a fluid motion in the direction of the slope causing all of the men to lose their footing and slide down the slope and out of her sight, screaming all the way down.

Dezi sighed, glad that they were gone, but she didn't want to stick around in case they came back.

Quickly she went back to her camp, gathered all her things and this time kept to the coast.

* * *

**Attack-of-the-Blue-Penguins**: Thank you for your imput and I hope you liked this chapter much better.

**Guest**: It's funny how an anonymous reviewer can inspire me to finally get around to publishing a chapter and getting another one in the works with such a bare minimum review, but hey, it worked!

**Also, the next chapter's supposed to be steamy (no pun intended) so if you want me to put it up asap, then please review. I love feedback of all kinds as you can see from above, so yeah, meet me halfway here. **


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